Seaside
Seaside The Kingdom of the South is a warm, welcoming place, permeated by rivers that flow from The Inner Sea towards the south coast. The largest one among those streams cleaves the realm in two halves and is known as The Sundering River. Every day merchants carry their goods on rafts down its stream, to sell them in the coastal cities. On their way back to The Ring, however, they are forced to disassemble their rafts and take a ride with the caravans that frequently depart to the grasslands, due to the river's swift current, which makes it impossible for a man to take a vessel upstream. There are no bridges on The Sundering, so crossing is only accomplished with ferries guided by ropes. The southerners are an easy-going, free-spirited people of farmers, sailors and merchants. They tend to have a rather practical and carefree view on life, working as much as necessary to survive, but not bothering overly much with amassing wealth. Those that do seek wealth often turn to piratry, which is the only real grudge that anyone can hold against the people of Seaside. The kingdom has only three main regions: the east, the west and the coast. West Seaside The western portion of Seaside has been held by the Quareen family for as long as men can remember. They possess a beautiful countryside manor, near a tranquil pond and a prosperous orchard. The Quareen, as well as the various minor families that have long sworn fealty to them, live off the wealth of the land. Indeed, this is one of the continent's most fertile regions. It is known for producing excellent horned melons, musk melons, vanilla, custard apples, sweet pepper, sweet orange, but, above all, for being the only place that brings forth the coveted cocoa, which is mostly exported to Whitestone to be processed into chocolate. Little wonder it is, then, that the Quareen have chosen the fruit for their sigil, black on a field of gold, for cocoa has truly made them exceptionally rich. On top of that, theyhave an immense amount of influence with the merchants from The Ring. East Seaside East Seaside has nothing to do with their wealthy westerner neighbors. It is a smaller region, quite similar to the nearby West Ashland, with the exception that here there is not much growing amid the rocks and hills. It is said that the configuration of its mountains blocks the cool winds and the rain from falling in this area. The land close to the grasslands is fertile enough to warrant a few villages, controlled by lesser lords, but the rest of the country is mostly barren. This would perhaps be the least important place of the continent, if it were not for the single oasis around which House Burnak built their keep. The Oasis Keep is one of the most important points of the kingdom, for it sits in a valley that gives access to the grasslands, to Ashland, to The Sundering and to the southern coast. There is no other path across the country's mountains, except through here. During The Holy Oracular War, the ashlanders tried a desperate attack to take its walls, but were forced back to retreat before their enemies' spears. The symbol of House Burnak is a closed gate over a blue field. This region has few villages and even fewer noble families to pay respect to the Burnak, yet it seems to produce the finest spearmen in all of Seaside. Most of them survive off hunting or by working as sellswords. House Burnak itself is mostly maintained by the crops grown around the oasis, although they also possess business in The Ring that provides them with gold and caravans. The Southern Coast The Southern Coast is dotted with a plethora of fishermen villages close to lush beaches. The continental area close to the coast is very fertile, producing bananas, coconuts, mangos, lemons and oranges. The region is known for its simple, yet delectable sea dishes, mostly prepared with coconut butter, lemon, salt and ground pepper. Most of what it produces, however, is directed to the local needs, since, with the exception of salt fish, everything else is unsuited for long-term conservation. Salt itself, though, is one of the bases of its economy. The coast is an extremely long bay, with the Capital in the central portion and two fortresses on each side of the narrow that leads into it. The ruling family, House Varnash, whose sigil is a golden anchor on a field of blue, holds the Capital City, the largest port of the known world, where so many people come from all over the continent to try and make a better life for themselves. It is known as The Golden Citadel and as The City of Opportunities, although many of said opportunties are not quite what immigrants had in mind when they left their homes to sail here. It is said that, in the Capital, for every good or service there is a price and someone desperate enough to take gold for it, no matter how repulsive or sickening it may be. Truly, many men and women that arrive here lured by the promise of wealth find themselves without the coin to return to their home lands and are forced to survive by what means they can. For this reason, many wealthy lords and ladies from other nations come to The Golden Citadel in order to fulfill their darkest desires. The east and west fortresses on the arms of the bay are called The Sun Fortress and The Moon Fortress. They are held, respectively, by House Zaxos and House Yshnir. Their sigils both contain a tower, one with a sun above, the other with a moon; one over a field of blue, the other over a field of black. It is said that their rivalry has existed for as long as the sun and the moon have been in the sky. Further Information The southerners prefer loose, practical clothes in a variety of colours if they can afford it. Soldiers fight mostly with spears, daggers and short bows. Horses are a luxury for the few, for which reason the realm does not have a proper cavalry force. It does boast, however, the most trained sailors and the largest navy of the continent. For their physical description, please refer to Physiological Traits.